Websites are increasingly featuring more content. In order to enable users to quickly locate desired content on websites, websites often provide navigation functions. Typically, a commonly-used website navigation process is a navigation method based on stratified data drives. One example of stratified data drives involves the formation of a graphic structure layered category navigation system. In a graphic structure layered category navigation system, certain methods are used to match user queries to a certain navigation status node to produce the navigation status one level below this node; while at the same time, the user can traverse each of the individual nodes of the navigation structure to engage in dynamic navigation.
To use an electronic commerce website as an example, assume that the user wants to search for a notebook computer of the brand “Apple.” After inputting the search keyword “apple”, the user engages in Level 1 category navigation. An example of Level 1 category navigation results can be seen in FIG. 1A, where several “Departments” are listed under “Any Department” including “Electronics,” “Wireless Accessories,” and “Software” and so forth. Assume that in this example, the user clicks on the “Electronics” navigation node in the Level 1 category navigation results based on that electronics' category's relationship to notebook computers. Subsequent to selecting “Electronics,” the user enters Level 2 category navigation. An example of Level 2 category navigation results can be seen in FIG. 1B, where several sub-categories under “Electronics” are displayed, including “Computer & Accessories,” “Portable Audio & Video” and “Accessories & Supplies” and so forth. The user then clicks on the “Computer & Accessories” navigation node in the Level 2 category navigation results. The resulting navigation results can be seen in FIG. 1C, where the desired category of “Laptops” is located in the Level 3 navigation results.
In the example of navigation mode as described above, the search results that the user desires is located in the last level of the navigation results, which is also a leaf node of the navigation category diagram. However, the process for users to find leaf nodes requires undergoing multiple level-by-level clicking operations, and the website server has to respond to each of the user's clicking operation with the corresponding navigation results. Such back and forth between the user and the website server can cause an increase in the burden on the website server and consumption of network bandwidth. Moreover, from the user's perspective, because locating the desired search results usually requires multiple instances of clicking operations, it also requires the viewing of multiple determinations before the desired next level down node can be located and selected, which can be inconvenient.